Dana Point in 2012: a look back

Dec. 26, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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The Amazing Grace was carrying at least 45 crew members and passengers when a shotgun shell with pellets was mistakenly fired from it during a Tall Ships Festival mock cannon battle in September. No one aboard the Amazing Grace was injured, though two people on another ship, the Bill of Rights, suffered minor injuries when hit by pellets. LEONARD ORTIZ, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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Scott Schoeffel was re-elected to the Daan Point City Council.

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Carlos Olvera, a former Dana Point planning commissioner and former president of the local Historical Society, was elected to the City Council.

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Former Dana Point Chamber of Commerce CEO Nichole Chambers pleaded guilty in September to grand theft and was sentenced to a year in jail. REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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The Dana Point City Council decided to ban retail sales of cats and dogs and instituted a “two strikes” rule that requires some pet owners to pay to spay or neuter their pets to reclaim them from impound. MINDY SCHAUER, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a revised proposal for the renovation of Dana Point Harbor. MARK RIGHTMIRE, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

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Dana Point adopted a local ban on plastic shopping bags to try to reduce litter and protect wildlife. It does not apply to restaurants. FRED SWEGLES, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

The Amazing Grace was carrying at least 45 crew members and passengers when a shotgun shell with pellets was mistakenly fired from it during a Tall Ships Festival mock cannon battle in September. No one aboard the Amazing Grace was injured, though two people on another ship, the Bill of Rights, suffered minor injuries when hit by pellets. LEONARD ORTIZ, REGISTER FILE PHOTO

As we prepare to say goodbye to 2012, here's a look back at some of the year's top stories in Dana Point, in chronological order:

Ban on dog, cat sales gets OK

The Dana Point City Council approved a first reading of a resolution in January banning retail sales of cats and dogs and instituted a "two strikes" rule that requires some pet owners to pay to spay or neuter their pets to reclaim them from impound.

The council approved the first readings of two ordinances introduced by then-Mayor Lara Anderson, who has since left the council.

Though Dana Point has no stores that sell cats and dogs, Anderson said she introduced the ban ordinance to combat pet overpopulation in Southern California.

The most recent store that sold dogs and cats in Dana Point closed more than a decade ago. Anderson said the business, Dana Point Pet Center on Del Obispo Street, was costly and difficult to manage because poor living conditions for animals there prompted several calls to animal-control officers.

Anderson said she hoped a ban will encourage aspiring pet owners to adopt from shelters and rescue groups.

Along with the ban, the city said it would enforce a rule in which any dog or cat picked up by animal-control officers twice in a three-year period could be reclaimed only if the owner agrees to pay to spay or neuter the animal. Anderson said that would reduce the number of strays and cut costs of operation for the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter.

The "two strikes" spay/neuter rule took effect 30 days after the ordinance was adopted Jan. 31. The sales ban will take effect in February 2013.

Dana Point adopts plastic-bag ban

Capping months of deliberations and several modifications, the Dana Point City Council voted 4-1 in March to give final approval to a local ban on plastic shopping bags.

It does not apply to restaurants as a result of changes suggested by City Manager Doug Chotkevys. Stephen Joseph, head of a group called the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, wrote to the city in February expressing his intent to sue if Dana Point applied the ban to restaurants. The group had already sued Santa Cruz County, which altered its ban to exempt restaurants.

The Dana Point council also voted to give small businesses a six-month exemption from the new ordinance after several local business owners said they needed time to clear their remaining stock of plastic bags. The ordinance will effect April 1, 2013, but for small businesses whose annual sales revenue is less than $4 million, the effective date is Oct. 1, 2013.

Dana Point's ordinance also does not include a fee for using paper bags, again in response to possible litigation.

Dana Point Councilman Bill Brough was the lone dissenter in the 4-1 vote, saying government does not need to regulate bags. He sponsored an anti-littering ordinance at a Feb. 21 council meeting as an alternative, but the council decided to move ahead with the plastic-bag ban.

In February, Dana Point adopted a ban on plastic-foam food containers. Brough also voted against that.

City adopts new fire-hazard zones

Dana Point's City Council unanimously adopted a new fire-hazard map for the city in March.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection submitted updated fire-hazard zones in October of 2011 for adoption by local governments within 120 days.

The updates designated some new "very high fire hazard severity zones" in Dana Point and downgraded the fire-risk levels of some other areas. The zones are established by looking at factors such as surrounding vegetation, weather and topography and determining how they contribute to the spread of embers during a wildfire.

A residential tract in the northeast corner of the city bordered by Pacific Island Drive, Crown Valley Parkway and Pacific Coast Highway has been designated a "very high fire hazard" zone.

New buildings in this zone must include features such as fire-resistant roofing, attic vents and proper vegetation management. Homeowners in a "very high fire hazard" zone also must disclose that fact if they decide to sell their home.

Several areas bordering San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Niguel, as well as the Dana Point Marine Life Refuge, have been designated as "ember zones." Those are areas of lower fire risk that will serve as buffers for firefighters combating wildfires.

The adoption of the map comes with several modifications to the city building code in the designated zones. For example, decks and patio covers must use flame-resistant materials. The changes vary by the level of fire risk and apply only to new construction.

Boaters prepare appeals of county dock tax

Members of Boaters for Dana Point Harbor are still in the process of appealing property assessments that are used to calculate "possessory interest" taxes they pay for using boat slips at the Orange County-owned Dana Point Harbor. The county levies the tax for private use of publicly owned property.

An appeals hearing in front of a panel of three administrative judges has been pushed back to March after originally being scheduled for Dec. 3.

Heyman said the assessor's valuations on the boats and docks the past four years are way too high and that the county is essentially double charging the boaters for the possessory interest tax.

Heyman and his group have filed hundreds of appeals to an administrative panel since 2007 to challenge the assessor's valuations. Appeals of the 2010 possessory interest taxes yielded refunds of 22 percent to 25 percent for several boaters.

The group hopes the continuing appeals eventually will prompt the county Assessor's Office to lower the valuations indefinitely.

Shotgun pellets fired from festival tall ship injure 2

Two people suffered minor injuries when hit by pellets from a live shotgun shell during a mock cannon battle in September during Dana Point's Tall Ships Festival.

Authorities said they believed the Amazing Grace, a tall ship based in Gig Harbor, Wash., mistakenly fired a shotgun shell with actual pellets instead of a blank, plain powder charge. Pellets struck the Bill of Rights, a ship operated by the American Tall Ship Institute in Oxnard, hitting two people onboard.

Donna Reed, a deckhand, said she was standing near the rear of the Bill of Rights when she felt a searing pain in her legs. Laura Huber, a volunteer historical re-enactor, also was hit by pellets, according to the Ocean Institute, the festival presenter.

The Amazing Grace and the Bill of Rights were using small "shotgun" cannons about the size of a small toolbox. Reed, a longtime tall-ship sailor, said the cannons' blank charges, made by Winchester, look like common shotgun shells and that one could easily be mistaken for the other.

Reed said another crew member on the Bill of Rights was an emergency-room nurse and immediately gave first aid to her and Huber, determining the injuries to be minor.

The Tall Ships Festival traditionally includes two sunset cruises in which visitors can ride the ships as they fire blanks in mock cannon warfare.

Former chamber chief gets year in jail for grand theft

Former Dana Point Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Nichole Chambers pleaded guilty in September to a grand-theft charge and an enhancement for aggravated white-collar crime and was sentenced to one year in jail, payment of restitution and five years' probation, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office and Superior Court records.

Two other charges and one other enhancement were dropped in a plea agreement with the District Attorney's Office, according to court records.

Chambers, 39, of Highland was accused of stealing more than $129,000 in Chamber of Commerce funds between January 2008 and October 2010. She resigned as chief executive in November 2010.

She was sentenced Sept. 17 after a hearing before Judge Derek Johnson in Newport Beach.

After serving her jail term, Chambers will have 72 hours to report to the county probation department to fulfill the rest of her sentence, according to Gwen Vieu, a Superior Court spokeswoman.

Chambers turned herself in Aug. 29 after a lengthy investigation by the Orange County Sheriff's Department of chamber allegations that she had stolen the organization's funds.

Prosecutors accused her of using the chamber's credit card and checking account without authorization to pay for personal expenses such as child care, dining out and a trip to Las Vegas. Chambers has since reimbursed the chamber about $2,500, prosecutors said.

Schoeffel, Olvera win City Council seats

Dana Point City Councilman Scott Schoeffel won re-election Nov. 6 with 29.7 percent of the vote.

Candidate Carlos Olvera took the second of the two available seats, finishing with 27.1 percent to edge Schoeffel's campaign partner, Planning Commissioner Norm Denton, who collected 25.2 percent.

Candidate Ed Stevenson had 17.9 percent.

Olvera is a former president of the Dana Point Historical Society and, like Schoeffel, a former planning commissioner.

Among the biggest issues in Dana Point is the planned Town Center project, which is intended to revitalize the area of Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado Avenue at an estimated cost of $20 million.

Schoeffel said the project is a priority and that the city wants to move it along faster. Olvera has said the city isn't moving fast enough.

Dana Point pursues rules for short-term rentals

Plans to regulate short-term vacation home rentals in the city after years of discussion moved forward in November following a City Council vote to draft an ordinance establishing rules and regulations.

Then-Mayor Lara Anderson, who has since left the council, and Councilman William Brough opposed the resolution to draft an ordinance.

In September, the council voted 4-1, with Anderson dissenting, to pursue regulations. Some council members acknowledged noise and other issues with such rentals but shared concerns about taking property rights from those who use their homes as rentals.

City staff presented the council with ordinances from three other cities, including Newport Beach, Mammoth Lakes and Big Bear Lake. Councilwoman Lisa Bartlett said that despite the information, she wanted to see more, especially data from coastal cities.

The council labeled Mammoth Lakes and Big Bear Lake as resort towns and said Dana Point is more of a residential city.

While short-term rentals are currently banned in the city, there is little to no enforcement of the ban, which led to years of discussions on the subject dating to 2007.

Town Center project moves ... slowly

While progress on Dana Point's Town Center project has been moving slowly, the city says it is moving forward with plans while trying to be responsible with funding the $20 million project that would revitalize a large area between Pacific Coast Highway and Del Prado Avenue, as well as La Plaza Park.

The plan, in the works for 15 years, aims to create two-way traffic flow on PCH and Del Prado between Blue Lantern and Copper Lantern, and new street signs, signals, striping and beautification measures in an area that would incorporate mixed-use structures, with residences above businesses.

The most recent advances have been associated with the Town Center's entrance, known as the Town Center South Gateway project. The gateway is located where Del Prado, PCH and Copper Lantern come together.

The gateway portion of the project will include some street improvements, a Town Center sign, a decorative retaining wall, landscaping and subsurface irrigation, new signage and new striping on the roads.

Work on the South Gateway began in November, and city officials said the work will be completed in April.

While residents and the City Council have expressed concern with the pace of the project, City Manager Doug Chotkevys said residents do not support a bond issue for the project, meaning the city has to find other ways to pay for it.

On Nov. 20, the council approved a $371,490 contract with KASA Construction for work on the South Gateway. In April, the council approved $350,000 or the project.

The council previously approved $2.6 million for the entire PCH/Del Prado project design, of which $2.3 million has been spent, according to Brad Fowler, director of public works.

South Coast Water District spokeswoman Linda Homscheid said the district and the city have been working together to get the project moving.

"The district has spent more than a year and $500,000 preparing the water/sewer infrastructure design plan for the project, in coordination with the city," Homscheid said. She said the water district is ready to install the necessary infrastructure but is waiting for the city to give the go-ahead.

Turmoil-ridden library group elects new board

Friends of the Dana Point Library elected a new board of directors Dec. 9 after months of infighting and the closure of the nonprofit organization's bookstore, but there are still issues to be resolved.

An election at the Dana Point Library, a branch of Orange County Public Libraries, resulted in four new board members supported by the Friends' current board. None of the current board members ran for re-election.

A group that opposes the current directors and tried to recall them supported four candidates who lost.

The new board members are Carol Wassman, president; Rick Conner, vice president; Mary Mashoof, treasurer; and Carrie Karas, secretary. They will officially take over Jan. 1.

The current board has been embroiled in a dispute with a group of former Friends bookstore managers and volunteers called Save Our Bookstore. The Friends operates the store inside the library at 33841 Niguel Road, selling donated books and other items at discount prices to help support the library.

Save Our Bookstore alleges the board wrongfully dismissed volunteers and managers, denied memberships and forced resignations of many people who once worked for the bookstore and illegally changed some of the organization's bylaws.

Board members say they acted in response to allegations of inappropriate behavior against some Friends volunteers and members.

Save Our Bookstore organized an election for October to recall all the directors, but the vote was blocked by an Orange County Superior Court judge who agreed with the board's contention that the opposition's methods in calling the election violated state law and the organization's bylaws

The board filed a lawsuit accusing the opposition of defaming the board members and disrupting the bookstore's operation. The suit calls for an end to "false statements" by former volunteers who say they were "fired."

On Nov. 1, OC Public Libraries closed the bookstore because it wanted the board to sign a licensing agreement with the county to operate the bookstore and wanted both sides to "cool off."

The county Board of Supervisors OKd the draft licensing agreement. The Dana Point Friends organization must sign the document before it can reopen the bookstore.

O.C. supervisors OK Dana Point Harbor renovation plan

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 11 approved a revised proposal to rebuild Dana Point Harbor, adding accessibility ramps for the disabled and reducing the number of boat slips by as many as 155.

Many of the same people who addressed the county Planning Commission in September reiterated concerns about the loss of boat slips and whether the plans are more favorable to dockside merchants than to boaters, while others encouraged the supervisors to approve the proposal and its subsequent environmental impact report. The vote was 5-0 to approve.

At the request of Supervisor Pat Bates, whose district includes the harbor, Brad Gross, the harbor director, promised to try to minimize the loss of slips as the $140 million project moves forward. Of the 2,409 existing slips, about 180 have been vacant the past four years, so the proposal would not require evictions, Gross said.

Construction is still years away. The plans need approval from the California Coastal Commission

City hopes for $608,000 court award from pot dispensary

A lawsuit against one of Dana Point's former marijuana dispensaries is still in the court system as the city hopes to collect a $608,000 judgment awarded to it from Beach Cities Collective. That's much less than the $2.4 million the city was awarded last year by a different judge in a ruling that was overturned on appeal.

Dana Point's lawsuit against Beach Cities Collective originally resulted in Orange County Superior Court Judge William Monroe awarding the city $2.4 million in a summary judgment in March 2011. A summary judgment, in which there is no trial, can be made only when the facts of a case are not in dispute.

But Beach Cities appealed the judgment to the state 4th District Court of Appeal, which ruled there were facts that could be disputed. Dispensary owner David Lambert had testified in a previous hearing that his business was a nonprofit organization, checked patients' prescriptions and distributed marijuana only for medical reasons. The city had alleged that Beach Cities and other local dispensaries were selling marijuana for profit for nonmedical purposes, a violation of state law considered a nuisance under civil code.

The case returned to Superior Court in September, this time for a trial. Judge Kirk Nakamura awarded the city $608,000, plus attorney's fees that could amount to $300,000. Nakamura still had to confirm the ruling before the city could start collecting.

Lambert said he plans to appeal. He said the judge did not allow him to testify or bring forth any witnesses.

Dana Point won about $7 million in judgments last year in three separate lawsuits against marijuana dispensaries Beach Cities, Holistic Health and The Point Alternative Care. The city shut down those operations in January 2011, citing municipal code violations such as unsafe entrances and building additions.

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